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LAPLACE — The St. Charles Catholic softball team clutched the 2022 District Championship with wins against Louise McGehee and Fisher in last week’s district tournament.

The Lady Comets have built a commendable 21-4 season record with three games remaining in the regular season. Head Coach Ty Monica said the Lady Comets pack a lot of power for being such a young team. Without any juniors or freshman on this year’s roster, the team is guided by a handful of seniors, sophomores and eighth graders.

Senior Madison Hebert has stepped up to the plate, slamming 11 homeruns this season and leading the team in RBIs. Hannah Brady and Dani Aucoin are also having phenomenal senior seasons and have set the tone for the rest of the team.

Eighth graders can be found on the field during any given game. Starting shortstop Adrienne Arnett has been performing well, according to Monica. Another young standout is Aliyah Manson, who starts at first and hits second in the lineup.

Meanwhile, eighth grader Kamryn Cancienne has been integral to the Lady Comets’ success inside the circle. She didn’t disappoint during the District tournament, throwing four strikeouts for a 16-1 win against McGehee and a whopping 11 strikeouts for the Lady Comets’ 12-2 victory over Fisher.

“To have a 14-year-old kid throwing a majority of your pitches and to be 21-4 at this point says a lot about her, and it says a lot about the rest of the team, too,” Monica said.

Stepping up among the sophomore class are starting catcher Rylee San Andres and left fielder Mia Ganote. Monica said San Andres has hit behind Hebert throughout the season to protect her, while Ganote has proved herself to be a speedy runner and a threat once she gets on base.

Monica said one of the greatest challenges this year has been consistency.

“Some days we come out and play really, really well. Other days, we look like the Bad News Bears, but we’re holding our own,” Monica said. “We had a lot of growing up to do as far as maturity. We had to learn how to handle failure, but more importantly, how to handle success. We haven’t handled success extremely well.”

After a stretch of 10 wins, including four shut-outs, the Lady Comets ran into trouble during last Friday’s game against Live Oak.

No matter the outcome of a game, the girls have proved they are a formidable softball team.

“The outlook heading into the season was that we knew we were going to be young, but we were just hoping we would get better every single time we put on the uniform. I think that has been the case,” Monica said. “This particular group of kids has been an absolute pleasure to coach. They are great kids that come from great parents. They are willing to be coached and pushed hard, and their success has proven that.”

Following Monday’s game against Albany, the Lady Comets look forward to facing St. Joseph’s Academy, Springfield and Riverdale to close out the regular season. Playoffs begin in two weeks, and this year’s State tournament will be held at St. Julien Park in Broussard.

“The coaching staff and the older players know what this is all about. We’ve experienced it. We’ve played state championships and have made it to the state tournament every year,” Monica said. “I want to get these young girls that experience. I want them to understand that the games you play during the course of the regular season are for this moment. Since January 17, you went through 75+ days of practice for this moment. I want them to take it all in and see what they created.”